…and so on by Amanda Haynes

We posted a few picks on Facebook but of course, we had to post more here!   They bought there cute as dog along and he was so funny …as you’ll see by the images…as he tried to pose for the camera and be the centre of attention…..all while being a Dog (sniff, run, sniff).

Total blast with these guys and gorgeous, sexy couple!    When we suggested going INTO the water, they both said “yep”,  then we said “how about lying down?”….and it was cold!…..Nick you are a trooper!

So excited to be working with so many amazing couples this wedding season…..and on that note…..here’s some Sneaks from the Weekend Wedding with Amanda and Gaurav…..

….. the weather turned out PERFECT! and so were they!  FULL Post coming soon!

Having just stepped off a plane the night (or should I say early hours of the morning!!!) before…then a full day of wedding meetings/final planning, etc…..by the time these two got to us that evening, I can’t even begin to imagine how tired they must have been!    After going over the details of their upcoming day (Sunday!!!!) we headed out, with their friends along for the ride tooand shot their Engagement Session.     As soon as I asked them to do something crazy in a hotel….and they looked at each other, and did it!…I knew that we were in for a great time and an even better day on Sunday!

I love that not only is their Day a chance for them to get married in New Zealand (they already had an INDIAN Ceremony!..yes amazing, colorful and complete with henna hands, LOL…my dream to photograph), but it’s also going to be a celebration of friendship, with many of those involved not having seen each other for some time.  For me that spells laughter, tears, memories and fun….the perfect mix for a Bridal party.

As you can see…..the bride is STUNNING! and the Groom…..aarghhh that jaw line!  Magazines pay big money for guys with that jaw line! LOL    Their friends just got married too!  So we had to shoot a few frames of them as well….but I love how they were up for bringing in the “native bush, Kiwi outdoors” feel on this Shoot, and in the coming weeks you’ll see why as we post the other Shoots that are planned with this fantastic couple.

Stay tuned……………..

Bri & Derek are awesome.  Plain and simple.   They are getting married in March (wooohoooo!!!) and need to get their Invites out, so it just made perfect sense to do an Engagement Session ; Images for them, Fun for us (and them I hope!) but the main thing I love about Engagements is that we get a chance to work with the couple before their Big Day.  Weddings are fast, furious events….with a limited timeline so when we’ve worked with the couple beforehand (in a relaxed environment and no time pressures) it does make the Wedding Day easier.   They know what to expect, how to move, stand, act, etc…..and of course the Engagement is the start of your Story together….so it also makes perfect sense to capture it! Fortunately for us, they were up for anything…and all our crazy ideas!….the out-takes of that wave are hilarious guys!  Especially since their massive “puppy”, Kevin (cool name!) just sat there enjoying the sand/water swamping him LOL   Good thing it dried off throughout the rest of our time…cos that is one big puppy to have wet in your car!

Originally the session was planned for what turned out to be a very windy day, so we bumped it 48 hours, and so glad we did!  The light was beautiful, golden and rich, and it was the perfect evening for a couple to be able to relax and just enjoy being together….something that Bri & Derek are good at, and it really shows.   Love it when a couple just relaxes and has fun, hangs out together and forgets that we are there…..Enjoy your Sneak Peeks guys!!!   Gallery up at the end of the week…then the Wedding!  Can’t wait, it’s going to be fantastic!…and of course we can’t sign off without saying “GO THE MIGHTY ALL BLACKS….YOU BLOODY BEAUTIES!!!”….(thanks for the cool quote Dobbo!)….WOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO!!!!

So you may be thinking that is a strange title for a Blog Post…..and it is….and it feels like some kind of a relief to be honest!   For YEARS I have wanted to just write stuff here…… to write what I think, feel, love, hate…and so on…which is how this Blog got it’s name in the first place!   I used to do that, just write and say it how I wanted too….no one had to agree with me, or even read it, I just wanted …no needed, a place to write it.  Maybe for posterity…because Blogs can be turned into books now!….because I wanted my kids to hear my heart and my heart-beat.   So what happened?  Clients that’s what.

Now that isn’t a bad thing, in fact its’ been pretty amazing, flattering and beyond our wildest dreams if I’m being really honest!  It still blows me away when I put a Gallery up and get the email telling me how they cried, laughed and loved their photos….I still get nervous before a Shoot, I still vomit before I leave for a wedding, then drink two coffees on the way, and shoot the details at the start…because I need to shoot them anyhow but I NEED to shoot them to calm myself, to find my eye, to still my head-voice so I can hear my heart one…the one that finds the emotion, joy, beauty in a couple’s Day.  The downside was that I got so worried about how clients would perceive me, that I stopped saying anything at all…..what if I disagreed with some political viewpoint and a Mom didn’t book me because of it?

Last week I woke up.   I realised that I had to just be ME……. and that in finding an acceptance about who I am, I could pursue a passion I’ve long had to help other woman find that same acceptance of themselves….through my lens…more to come on this  but to say I’m excited is an understatement.

So yes…July the 12th stares me in the face…okay it’s actually spitting me in the eye…..it’s the date below this one…the last time I blogged…but in my head I’ve blogged everyday…driving the motorway, driving home from a Session, driving to a session, during a Shoot, speaking to a friend, holding my kids in the middle of the night after the Ground has shook yet again….while I edit.

Last week I finally was able to say to myself…..YES I do take awhile to edit a session, I AM slower than a number of my colleagues BUT …and here’s the kicker….I GIVE A FLYING FIG.   I care that they have a pimple on their cheek, that their eye has  a red vein that is not flattering, that their is a tiny bit of “back fat” under the arm of the Bride that couldn’t be hidden because that shot of her with her head back laughing was captured without her knowing…so No I didn’t want to go over and have her move her shoulder back…..I wanted the truth of that moment, but I also got that tiny bit of unflattering skin…and yes I am going to fix it in Photoshop and never tell her….and yes, that does take extra time….and clients that book us know that, and love us for it.

So rather than beat myself up about it anymore, I actually decided the other day, to pat myself on the back and remind myself that BECAUSE I care, my clients love their images, and I hope that their children and children’s children will too.   I lost my mom at the age of 5, I have three photos of her…one is just of her arm!    I had just had my tonsils out, I had just started school….I have three photos….and too few memories.   I don’t want other’s to be able to write this…I want them to have images and memories of their families and lives, but I want those images to be the very best they can be…

I am Amanda Haynes, I am a Professional Photographer but I’m also a Wife, a Mom, a Business Woman, a Business Owner, a Friend…and so much more…. and I think I finally realised that it is okay to be all those things in this one place, and if there are people/clients that don’t like or understand me or my point of view, that is actually okay…..it’s better to Say something and be heard, than to be silent for fear of being misunderstood…..

 

Oh so sweet and yes, yummy!   I know that isn’t quite the correct term for a baby, but the one’s that have been coming through the Studio lately are all so gorgeous that I really could just gobble them up!  Several I’ve wished that the parents would have forgotten to take them home!  Those gorgeous big eyes, the soft soft skin, the innocent smiles, dimples, rolls and that baby smell….only a Mom would know how that smell can make you all dreamy and gooey.

Having four kids of my own that are now 10 and older, I personallly just adore the winter months when Tummies and Newborns come flowing in the door….Erick always knows when I’ve done baby sessions during the day, he says I have a glow and look about me that spells “Danger!”….LOL, I’ve yet to ask him exactly what he means by that!  My baby-producing days are over, but oh gosh I adore the trip down memory lane everytime a bundle of sweetness comes through the door.  Sighs.

Yep sitting here feeling all gooey again….and in case you thought I was exaggerating somewhat….you’re wrong….See???!!!………….

Sweet Sylvie is first up….more to come!

SIGHS…………….